Streetcars, subways and buses rolled out as scheduled for the Monday morning commute after negotiations between the TTC and its largest union came down to the wire and the two sides reached a last-minute tentative deal.

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 had said that if an acceptable offer wasn't put on the table by Sunday at 4pm it would advise its members not to show up for work Monday as of 4am. Bob Kinnear, the president of the transit labour group, announced the union had reached a tentative agreement with the TTC nearly two hours after that deadline had passed.

Approximately 1.5 million people rely on the Better Way every day and many were holding their breath for word of a possible strike Sunday afternoon.

"I work in a restaurant Monday to Friday and if there is no (transit), I would face so many problems," Kasim Baskar said while waiting for a streetcar Sunday.

"I would be fired from the restaurant, too."

While riders were relieved a strike was averted, transit workers were pleased with the result of the tense talks, as well.

"The union was fighting for us and whatever they were asking was legit and I wasn't worried," TTC operator Riz Khan said Monday.

The 8,900 ATU members still have to ratify the deal, but Kinnear has suggested that they accept the three-year tentative agreement, which includes a three percent pay increase and benefit improvements that put TTC workers more in line with other city workers and transit employees in other parts of the GTA.

"This is an agreement that all parties can live with and therefore our executive board will be recommending ratification," Kinnear said.

The tentative agreement includes a three percent pay hike annually over the three years of the deal, improvements in life insurance, dental benefits and a conditional boost in salary.

"Obviously we didn't get everything we wanted -- I don't think that any bargaining unit ever gets everything they wanted -- but it's important to point out we made substantial in-roads to improve our benefit package ... and we're comfortable with the recommendation we're making," Kinnear said.

Toronto Mayor David Miller was pleased with the final result and said it was a fair deal for everyone involved.

"I wish this could have been settled without the threat of a strike hanging over people's heads but we've reached a fair settlement," he said.

"The importance of this settlement is obvious, the TTC is the lifeblood of Toronto and we're very pleased that service will be continuing."

Kinnear believes the tentative settlement was reached because Miller intervened when he returned from his trade mission to China this weekend.

"I think it's evident that the mayor did get involved. If it wasn't the mayor, somebody from City Hall had sent a new directive, probably sometime during Saturday," the union boss said. "I'll make that assumption, because nothing had happened all day Friday, and the change came late Saturday evening, so, yes, we believe that somebody got involved. If it wasn't the mayor, then we most definitely believe that the commission or the councillors were involved in sending a new directive to the TTC in these rounds of negotiations."

Miller insists he did not have a part in the negotiations.

While the dust has settled there's still talk of having the TTC declared an essential service. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he'd consider the action which would allow workers to be legislated back to work if they went on strike, but the city hasn't made a formal request for that action.

Miller has refused to weigh in on the debate but other city councillors have spoken out on the issue.

"I believe it is an essential service. I think the city needs to look at whether it needs to be managed on a regional basis instead of a city basis," Coun. Karen Stinz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence) said.

"It is an essential service," Coun. Adam Vaughan (Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina) said. "We better be prepared to treat the workers the same as the police and firefighters are treated in the city."

They avoided temporarily, they screwed the Mainteneance people 3yrs ago and continued to do it again, thats a total of 6YRS! We all stand together, just like we won the job evaluation YRS ago! We still havent been paid? Every other person in the job evaluation has been paid, we are the last, and we were supposed to be based on 2000 hrs per yrs, and TTC wants to cut to 1000hrs, shafted again!

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